A Constructed Roman Alphabet

When we were young we used spend a lot of time in the bindery of David Bourbeau. We had a key and after hours we’d help ourselves to his library. One book we’d return to again and again is this one. It is a totally bonkers, detailed explanation of how to construct the Roman alphabet (+ Greek and figs) with geometric precision. There are step-by-step instructions that’re impossible for us to comprehend or even imagine how they were conceived. But the proof is in the putting of lovely letters on the page. A humbling masterpiece, this one comes with a typed, signed letter from publisher David Godine to designer Howard Gralla.